Fantasy sports: Real draft offers little help to you

Sunday

Apr 28, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Josh Bousquet Fantasy Sports

The NFL Draft is supposed to provide a beacon of light for football fans amid the long offseason. It comes just as the weather turns, offering warmth in the form of the league's next predestined stars.

That was the case until this year, anyway.

The 2013 draft broke a streak of a quarterback going in the top three picks that started in 2001 (see chart). Granted there are some monumental busts in there — JaMarcus Russell is now applying for jobs for which he would wear his name on the front of his shirt instead the back — but fantasy players at least have been teased by the potential of these high picks.

This year, though, saw only one quarterback, no running backs and three wide receivers taken in the first round. Those are not enough places to channel our hibernating enthusiasm.

And there are some rather flimsy places there, too. The Bills have begun the least exciting quarterback controversy in history by signing Kevin Kolb this offseason, whose career highlight came as an injury replacement in 2009, and using that sole first-round QB selection on Florida State's E.J. Manuel, who topped no one's draft board at the position.

To recap, no one else even wanted a quarterback in the first round (and only one more went in Round 2), but the Bills jumped to grab one no one else wanted. General manager Buddy Nix admitted he may have been “a little nervous” when making the pick. No wonder one would be hard-pressed to name the players who have manned the QB position in Buffalo since Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season.

Two years ago, fantasy players were treated to the position paradigm-breaking force that was Cam Newton and his rushing touchdowns. Last year, Robert Griffin III continued that trend while Andrew Luck showed an arm that could prove a worthwhile heir to Peyton Manning's, but now we have to wonder if Manuel can wrest playing time away from a player who couldn't succeed when he had Larry Fitzgerald on his side?

At least the second quarterback picked made a more interesting controversy when the Jets tabbed Geno Smith. Smith seems primed to be a better NFL quarterback than Manuel, but he may be kept off the field by issues beyond his performance. The Jets already have Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow on the roster, with financial hits coming if either is let go. The team should give in and allow Smith to start, but coach Rex Ryan isn't especially known for smart decisions and shying away from controversy, so any potential fantasy value from Smith unfortunately starts with him.

There is a little ray of light for Buffalo fans amid the drafting of Manuel, since at least the team traded down in the first round to get him. The Rams jumped up to get the Bills' pick and used it to select West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin. St. Louis was one of those recent teams that grabbed a quarterback at the top of the draft, picking Sam Bradford first overall in 2010. With Danny Amendola gone to New England, though, Bradford was left with Chris Givens as his top target, so Austin should be able to put up immediate numbers.

Even at his best, though, Bradford has only been a player who (still) only shows great potential, so don't yet put too much faith in Austin's fantasy capabilities. He will look great because he was the only skill position player taken in the top 15 picks, but remember it did take eight picks to get to him.

The most immediate fantasy impact player probably didn't come until the end of the second round when the Packers picked Alabama running back Eddie Lacy. Green Bay has been riding the arm of Aaron Rodgers to huge offensive numbers for a few seasons with a revolving door of backs behind the Packers' newly financially enhanced quarterback.

Last year, the Packers did not have a running back play in more than 12 games and none recorded 500 rushing yards, with Alex Green leading the way with 464. Lacy could bring stability to the position, and will not need to carry a big load on an already powerful offense, giving him time to ease into his role.

Or I am just looking for some shining light in this most unexciting of drafts.

Before this year, a quarterback had been chosen within the top three picks of the NFL Draft for 12 straight years.